Expression GreenExpressing the need for a healthy green lifestyle

“Eat your greens” has been sound advice for gen­er­a­tions. Green veg­eta­bles are par­tic­u­larly rich in antiox­i­dants. They con­tain vary­ing amounts of many phy­to­chem­i­cals includ­ing some really impor­tant ones like Vit­a­min C, flavonoids and carotenoids. The bras­sica group (broc­coli, cab­bage, Brus­sels sprouts, etc) also con­tain sul­phur com­pounds and indoles, which add extra punch.

Vit­a­mins are found in var­i­ous food groups. It is easy to achieve ade­quate intake by fol­low­ing a bal­anced diet accord­ing to the “Healthy Food Guide Pyra­mid” recommendations.Good sources of vit­a­min B com­plex include grain prod­ucts, meats and veg­eta­bles. Vit­a­min B12 is respon­si­ble for red blood cell metabolism.

Beta-carotene, lutein, and zeax­an­thin are carotenoids, a large class of nat­ural plant pig­ments respon­si­ble for the bright colours of fruit and veg­eta­bles. They exhibit strong antiox­i­dant prop­er­ties and may reduce the risk of age-related mac­u­lar degen­er­a­tion and some types of can­cer. About 40% of the carotenoids we eat are con­verted to vit­a­min A; the rest func­tion as antiox­i­dants. Beta-carotene is espe­cially effec­tive in this regard. Beta-carotene may offer some pro­tec­tion from the risk of age-related mac­u­lar degen­er­a­tion and some types of cancer.

They are a rich source of min­er­als (includ­ing iron, cal­cium, potas­sium, and mag­ne­sium) and vit­a­mins, includ­ing vit­a­mins K, C, E, and many of the B vit­a­mins. They also pro­vide a vari­ety of phy­tonu­tri­ents includ­ing beta-carotene, lutein, and zeax­an­thin, which pro­tect our cells from dam­age and our eyes from age-related prob­lems, among many other effects.

The betac­arotene pig­ment in yellow-orange veg­eta­bles was already known for its ben­e­fi­cial prop­er­ties against eye dis­eases. But sci­en­tists found that the lutein and zeax­an­thin com­pounds in leafy green veg­eta­bles, broc­coli and other yel­low veg­eta­bles such as squash and sweet corn are also extremely potent against eye vision damaging.

Lutein is found all through­out our body, but it is very con­cen­trated in the mac­ula of the eyes. That is why it sig­nif­i­cantly inhibits the risk of devel­op­ing mac­u­lar degen­er­a­tion of the eyes and is much rec­om­mended for indi­vid­u­als that have eye prob­lems and also for the ones that make exten­sive use of their visual abil­ity. For exam­ple, peo­ple that are over-exposed to sun rays or com­puter screens on a reg­u­lar basis.

Brain Health should be a good rea­son you should con­sider eat­ing more green veg­eta­bles. New stud­ies are show­ing that impor­tant lifestyle choices, like eat­ing healthy green veg­eta­bles, can help pre­vent you from devel­op­ing sick­nesses like Alzheimer’s and a vari­ety of other illnesses.

Raw veg­eta­bles are extremely rich in min­er­als, vit­a­mins, trace ele­ments, enzymes and nat­ural sug­ars. All of these are things that your body needs to func­tion prop­erly and the raw veg­gies will help sta­bi­lize and nor­mal­ize your nat­ural bod­ily func­tions. They actu­ally help pretty much ALL of your nat­ural bod­ily func­tions operate.

While the onion cooks, wash the chard, remove the stems and coarsely chop. When the onion is soft, add 2 table­spoons of but­ter to the pan and add the chard. Lightly salt. Stir, cover and cook over low heat, stir­ring occa­sion­ally until the chard just wilts (this should not take more than 3 to 5 minutes).

Leafy greens are chlorophyll-rich. And chloro­phyll, which gives green plants their color, has been proven to help build red blood cells. Nutri­tion experts now claim that con­sum­ing plenty of green veg­eta­bles, par­tic­u­larly green leafy veg­eta­bles, will help to decrease the risk of heart dis­ease, stroke and cer­tain can­cers. They are also said to be effec­tive at low­er­ing blood pres­sure, improv­ing diges­tive health and guard­ing against cataracts and mac­u­lar degeneration.